Silo.



No. 833,242. P ATENTED OCT. 16, 1906.

- J11). POWELL.

SILO.

APPLIGATIOX FILED KAY 10. 1908.

1d 16 Mr...- 4 1\E 9 6 1 WITNESSES: INVENTOR- ATTORNEYS ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

JONATHAN l). lOlVELL, OF LYNN, MICHIGAN.

SILIO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1906.

I Application filed may 10, 1906. Serial No. 316.184.

improvement on the device of this class for which application for Letters Patent of the United States was filed by myself on the 14th day of June,,1905, Serial No. 265.211.

Among the ob ects of the present invention are to simplify and improve thc,construct1on of the door of the silo. to facilitate the opening and closing of the door, to provide an imroved construction under wlnch the door tional detail view taken on the plane indicated by the line 4 4 in Fig. t. Fig. 5 iso sectional detail vie taken on the plane indicated by the line 5 5 in Fig. 1. Fig. ti is a detail-view of one of the door-braces detached. Fig. 7 is a sectional detail view. on a larger scale. showing the free edge of one of ,the door-sections in the position which it occupies just before closing.

Corresponding parts in the several figures i are indicated throughout. by similar characters of rclerencc.

The silo is constructed in the ordinary manner of matched stavcs 1 1. hound together by hoops .2 2. each of which. as seen 111 l Figs. 1 and I. may he made up of a plurality is composed of two minor sections having adjacentbeveled edges adapted for slidable engagement in combination with connecting 1,

means, whereby the door-sections may be manipulated in such a manner as to expand the door laterally and brin the edges thereof into forcible contact with the door-posts, so as to insure tight joints.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction. under which the 1100 s of the silo'are utilized in connection wit 1 wedges to secure the doors against the pressure of the contents of the silo.

Still further objects of the invention are to simplify and improve the construction and operation of the device as awhole.

'ith these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of arts, which will be hereinafter fully describet and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and pref erred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation isnecessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but

that changes, alterations, and modifications within the scope of the invention may be made when desired.

In the. drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a silo constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention. Fig. .2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the plane indicated bv the line 3 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional dotail view taken on substantially the same lane as Fig. 2, but showing one of the doorsec-tions partly open. F ig. 4 is a vertical secof sections connected at their ends by means of clips or connecting members 3, with which the ends of the hoops or hoop members may be connected in any convenient and wcl known manner. A doorway is formed in the silo by omitting two or more staves. The stoves adjacent to the doorway are specially designated 1 and 1 and these staves will be regarded as constituting the door-posts.

The door of the silo. which extends from the top to the bottom, is composed of a plurality of independent sections S S, said sections being composed of two minor sections 5 and 6. The section or member 5 is made of a width to till the greater part of the door-opening, and said mem er may be constructed of any desired number of )ieces of matched lumber connected securely together by means of horizontally-disposed transverse brace-bars 7 ably connected with the individual strips 8 S, of which the member 5 may be composed, by means of bolts 9 extending through slots 10 in the brace member. By this construction a shrinkage in the lumber of which the door member is composed may be compensated for by loosening the bolts 9, when the parts may bebrought closely together, so as to reestablish a-tightjoint.

The minor sections or members 5 and 6 of each door-section are provided with contacting beveled edges, and the members 6 are provided with brace-blocks 10, having beveled ends abutting upon the correspondinglybeveled ends of the braces 7. The latter are provided with washer-plates 11, projecting beyond their beveled ends and having apertures for the passage of bolts 12, which extend obliquely through the members 6 and through the brace-blocks 10. These bolts each of v 7, which are prefcrserve to so conpect the members 6 with the members that by loosening the nuts 13 upon said bolts the beveled edges of the door members will admit of a relative sliding movement of the members, whereby the distant edges of said members will move toward each other or the distance between said edges will be restored, while by tightening the said nuts the opposite movement will result and the distance between the outer or distant edges of the door members will be increased. The members 5 of the door-sections are connected with the stave constitut- 3 ing the door-post 1* by means of hinges 14.

The brace-blocks 10 of the door members 6 are extended beyond the outer edges of said door members, so as to overlap the staves constituting the '(lOOf-pO. 1".

It is obvious that in the construction of this device the door-sections S will be made of dimensions calculated to fit extremely tightly in the door-opening. When the silo is empty and is ready to be filled, all of the door-sections will be tightly closed, as will be readily understood. Any one or more of the door-sections may be opened toafford access to the interior of the silo by loosening the nuts 13 of the connecting-bolts 12 of the section that is to be opened, thus permitting the door member 5 to move outward at its free edge until the lateral pressure against the proximate door member 6 is reduced sufiiciently to enable it to swing clear of the dooro ening, when the door may be swung 0 en, t as enabling a portion of the content-s o the silo to be removed. i'hen this has been done, the door'may be closed by swinging it shut until the brace-blocks 10 of the member 5 abut upon the door-post 1. Then by ti htening the nuts 13 the free edge of the (.001 member 5 will be forced in an inward direction, thus exerting lateral pressure upon the member 5 until an absolutely tight closure has been effected.

The upper and lower edges of the door-sections are slightly beveled, as will be seen at 15 in Figs. 4 and 5, said beveled edges coopcrating to form V-shaped grooves, in which packing material of any kind-such as cotton, hemp, ensilage, or other materialmay be packed from the interior of the silo when the latter is being filled. Absolutely tight joints may thus be made without obstructing or interfering with the subsequent opening of the doors.

The door-sections S are preferably made of such height as to extend between proximate hoops 2-2 of the silo. one such hoop being preferably disposed at the meeting joint of proximate door-sections. For additional security wedges, as 16-, are driven between the hoops and the faces of the door-sections.

The hoops being disposed normally in .aline-. ment with the oints or interset tions of the door-sections would to some extent obstruct the opening of the latter by contacting with their upper and lower edges. Hence when a door-section is to be opened it becomes necessary not only to remove the wedges 16, but also to slightly displace the proximate hoops 2 sufficiently to enable the door-sections to swing clear of the latter. To enable such displacement of the hoops to be readily performed, the several slaves of the silo, as well as the door-sections, are provided with wearlates 17, supp Jrting the hoops and. preventing them from sinking or becoming embedded in the wood of the staves and the door-sections. The hoops are usually constructed on round iron, as shown in the drawings; but this is non-essential.

From the foregoing dcscri'tion, taken in connection with the drawings iie eto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

A silo embodying my present improvements may be manufactured, installed, and maintained at a moderate expense. Convenient access is afforded to anyportion of the silo, so that as the contents of the latter are gradually removed a door may be opened at the level of the contents.

The gist of the invention resides in the facility with which the doors may not only be opened but also restored to an absolutely tight condition, since by simply manipulating the nuts 13 the doors may be easily and tightly closed a ainst the powerful pressure existing within the silo.

' Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is l. A silo having a door-opening, a door-section hinged only along one edge of the opening and comprising members having beveled contacting ed es, and means whereby said members may e moved together to exert lateral pressure.

2. A silo having a door-o constituting doorosts, a cor-section comprising members raving beveled contacting edges, bracc-blocksiupon one member overning and staves IIO lapping the proximate door-post, and means for moving the members together to exert lateral pressure upon the door-posts.

3. In a silo, staves constituting door-posts, a door-section including minor sections one of which is hinged upon one of the door-- posts, said minor sections or members having eve-led contacting edges, and means for supporting one member on the other and whereby said members may be moved together to exert lateral pressure upon the door-posts.

4. In a silo, a door-section including minor brace-bars of the first member, connectinga bevel-ended bracebars upon one 1. s GXI ming through the second member br gh the braceblocks connecte an thi with and engaging the washer-plates, ano .a'hte rig-nuts.

comprising two having beveled contacting edges adjustably 20 held in engagement.

7. Ina SllO, a laterally-expansible door mounted to swing on one axis and comprismg two loosely-connected members havmg beveled contactin edges, and

moving one means for of sai members slidingly upon 25 the other and for securing it atvvarious adjustmen'ts.

8. Ina silo, comprising two a laterally-expansible door loosely-connected members;

one of said members belng lnngedly sup- 3o ported and .the other member being provide with a laterally-extendin bers being provided with ed es.

n testimony that my own in the presence of two witnesses.

JONATHAN D. P

Witnesses:

W. H. Wrr'r, J. L. BENEDICT,

stop; 581d memeveledcontacting I claim the foregoing as 3 5 I have hereto afiixed my signature OWELL. 

